UCLA defeats rival USC, advances to Pac-12 basketball tournament title game
They could feel it on the way to the timeout huddle in the final minutes, Johnny Juzang high-fiving Peyton Watson and Jules Bernard clapping like he never wanted to stop.
After matching its latest lockdown defensive effort with some highly efficient attack-the-basket offense, UCLA just needed a closeout special against USC in a Pac-12 Conference tournament semifinal Friday night.
Bruins guard Jaime Jaquez Jr. provided more certainty, driving for a layup that extended his team’s double-digit lead while his teammates on the bench stood in celebration.
All that was left was to run out the clock on the second-seeded Bruins’ 69-59 victory over the third-seeded Trojans that moved UCLA into the championship game for the first time since 2014 while settling another important debate.
The rivalry needed resolution, if even just for this moment, this latest battle for supremacy.
Round 1 went to USC in February, the Trojans pushing through the absence of their top player, guard Drew Peterson filling the void with one improbable shot after another.
Round 2 went to UCLA last week, the Bruins saying they needed to put their life on the line and playing as if that wasn’t an exaggeration, willing themselves past their cross-town counterparts for the first time in more than three years.
Those conflicting results left the teams and their respective fan bases in need of some clarity on the eve of the NCAA tournament. Even with bigger games ahead, an unofficial city title hung in the balance.
No banners would be raised, no jewelry designed as a result of the outcome, but the winners could tug on the front of their jerseys and pull out the letters on the chest to declare themselves the best college basketball team in Los Angeles.
That distinction went to the Bruins (25-6), who will face top-seeded Arizona in the championship game Saturday evening.
“It’s a great opportunity for our team,” said Jaquez, who led four Bruins in double figures with 19 points while making six of nine shots. “It’ll really give us a good test for where we are proceeding into March. It’ll be a fun experience, it’s what we all work for, trying to get that trophy.”
Not even a career-high-tying 27 points from guard Boogie Ellis could keep the Trojans (26-7) afloat against an opponent that has won eight of its last nine games while surging into the postseason.
“I was just trying to do whatever it took to help my team win the game,” said Ellis, who made nine of 17 shots and five of nine three-pointers.
The problem for Ellis was that he was thoroughly outmanned. Bernard scored 15 points, Tyger Campbell had 14 and Juzang added 10, reaching double figures for the first time since Feb. 21.
UCLA’s assertiveness in attacking the basket resulted in 21 free throws, the Bruins making 17. They also shot an efficient 55% in the second half.
Peterson (11 points) was the only other USC player besides Ellis to reach double figures. Isaiah Mobley could only manage nine on four-for-11 shooting.
Azoulas Tubelis had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and No. 2-ranked Arizona defeated Colorado 82-72 in the Pac-12 tournament semifinals Friday night.
“I was trying to take away his right hand,” Jaquez said of his defense on Mobley. “I know he likes to get there, in the post, get there to the left shoulder, right hand hook. So I was trying to take that away from him.”
With Bernard and Campbell in foul trouble, Watson made the most of some bonus minutes midway through the second half. In one sequence, he blocked a shot by USC’s Kobe Johnson before converting a floater on the other end of the court. After Bruins center Myles Johnson forced Ellis into an airball — the Trojans’ fourth of the game — Watson followed with a three-pointer that nudged his team into a 49-38 advantage.
It wasn’t all highlights. Watson committed a traveling violation and an offensive foul before quickly departing.
After Ellis buried a jumper to pull USC to within 51-45, the Bruins received some much-needed offense from leading scorer Juzang, who had been stuck in an extended funk since returning from a sprained right ankle. Juzang sank a jumper and found Bernard in the corner for a three-pointer that pushed the Bruins’ cushion to 56-47.
It’s been a long time since the Bruins cut down the nets in this tournament. UCLA has not won the event since 2014, when it was played at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
Both teams were safely in the NCAA tournament regardless of the outcome Friday, leaving only doubts of seed, not seeds of doubt. ESPN bracket expert Joe Lunardi told The Times earlier this week that UCLA could rise as high as a No. 2 seed by winning the Pac-12 tournament, though a No. 3 seed was more likely.
Lunardi projected USC as a No. 7 seed in his Friday bracket. One bonus of winning the rivalry rematch was increasing the likelihood of remaining on the West Coast for the opening rounds of the NCAA tournament, with spots available in San Diego and Portland.
Over the last week and a half, USC played like a team that deserved to get shipped to Buffalo, N.Y. The Trojans suffered a 20-point beatdown against Arizona, needed a late rally to avoid a blowout loss to UCLA and appeared on the verge of a turnover-fueled collapse in their Pac-12 tournament opener before holding off Washington.
Their struggles continued in the early going Friday.
Johnson moved back into the starting lineup and announced his presence by hectoring Peterson into a turnover on USC’s opening possession. The Bruins quickly matched the blunder, a Campbell charge 53 seconds into the game giving UCLA as many turnovers as it had in the entirety of the last meeting between the teams while setting a school record.
Like it did the previous night, UCLA’s defense made things excruciating midway through the first half, holding the Trojans to one-of-10 shooting from the field at one point. Mobley, Peterson and Ellis each airballed a shot and USC compounded its issues by missing four consecutive free throws.
“Defensively,” UCLA coach Mick Cronin said, “I thought that was as good as we’ve played in a while, especially in the first half.”
It had all the ingredients of a UCLA rout. After Clark grabbed an offensive rebound that led to a Campbell three-pointer, the Bruins held a 36-24 lead and the Trojans called timeout. Peterson finally gave USC some much-needed momentum before halftime when he pulled the Trojans to within 36-28 with two free throws and a baseline jumper.
They would never get much closer, the rivalry belonging once again to the Bruins.
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